There were approximately 7,000 full-time bandsmen serving in the British army in the interwar years. This was about a third of the total number of musicians in the music profession in the United Kingdom, making the War Office the largest single employer of professional musicians in the country. British army musicians were a key stakeholder in the music industry in the United Kingdom, but also farther afield, where it made a significant contribution to the maintenance of British imperial authority.
To sustain the large number of bands, residential institutions provided young boys for recruitment into the army as bandsmen and, as a consequence, the army set the standard for musical training and performance. The music industry relied upon the existence of army bands for its business and the military played a significant part in the adoption of an international standard of musical pitch. Nevertheless, there was a tempestuous relationship between army bands and the BBC, as well as the recording industry as a whole.
Using untapped sources and original material, Major David Hammond reveals the role and soft power influence of British army music in the interwar years.
Author Biography:
David Hammond was Educated at the London College of Music and York and Cambridge Universities, and as a performer with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, he has had a diverse career, taking him across the world as a French horn player and conductor. After four years in Southern Africa working for the Bophuthatswana Arts Council, his subsequent time in the British army saw him live in Germany and Gibraltar, serve in the Balkans, Falkland Islands, Canada, Cyprus, Kenya, and lead soldiers on Operations in Afghanistan.
With the Household Cavalry, David led the mounted band on the Queen's Birthday Parade in 2014, and he continued to work in the state arena as Director of Music, The Countess of Wessex's String Orchestra, responsible for the music at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Holyrood Palace for Investitures, State Banquets, and other royal events. As an army reservist David is now Director of Music of The Band of The Royal Yeomanry (Inns of Court & City Yeomanry). As a civilian he is a French horn player and conductor, and a director of the management consultancy Get Psyched Up!
David has five degrees and holds Fellowships from the principal British music conservatoires. Following on from an MBA with the Open University, David's PhD research combined his interests in music, strategy, and history, and forms the basis of this book.
David has participated in sports throughout his career, notably football and rugby, and has also enjoyed 'adventure' travelling - such as canoeing on the Zambezi and completing the Trans-Siberian Railway. He now loves spending his spare time on the Essex coast with his wife, Kate, their teenage twin daughters, Jane and Elizabeth, and two large labradoodles.
